Thermaltake SHARK aluminum tower case

Introduction/Specs

Thermaltake has been building some quality aluminum tower cases lately and today we’ll be given the opportunity to swim with their SHARK, aluminum full-tower. The semantics behind the name have less to do with the predatory reputation of the fish and more with an entity which has attained an evolutionary plateau. Thermaltake’s SHARK lives up to its aquatic reputation in that it’s designed to house Thermaltake watercooling products (as well as other water-cooling systems). Today were going to look into model VA7000BWA, the block aluminum version featuring all the accoutrements the devoted PC-enthusiast and/or watercooling hobbyist could hope for.

Thermaltake’s SHARK series is one of the most versatile Tower designs on the market today. The side panel features a “Honey-comb” viewing alternative which replaces the typical plexiglas window and allows further ventilation. Plexiglas is a better insulator then conductor of heat and in-so-far as case temps are concerned your better off eschewing a plexiglas side-window. Thermaltake’s solution is simple, effective and integrates EMI shielding. Below we’ve included a summary of the SHARK’s specifications.

Model Number	VA7000BWA / VA7000BWA1
Case Type	Full Tower Chassis
Side Panel	Honey Comb (see through)
Net. Weight	6.8kg / 14lb
Dimensions	540x205x500mm
Cooling	Front 120mm fan /Rear 120mm blue LED
Noise Level	Front fan 21dBA / Rear fan 21dBA
Material	Chassis 1.0 aluminum / Front Door 5mm aluminum
Drive bays	External: 5 x 5.25″, 2 x 3.5″ Internal: 5 x 5.25″
Motherboards	removable tray fits: ATX / Micro-ATX
Thermal test	T ambient: 38C, Intel validated
USB	Front accessable dual USB 2.0
1394	Front accesable dual 1394 Firewire
Audio	Front accessable dual audio & speaker ports

Now let’s move along and take a closer look at our review unit.